Over the years, there have been a lot of discussions on the pros and cons of incineration and incinerators.  Countries that put a hold on incineration for some time have re-started incineration of waste in full swing in the past ten to fifteen years.  This is mainly due to:

-        Better and more eco-friendly designs of incinerators

-        Newer technologies

-        Comprehensive air pollution control systems to produce less than 5 mg/m³ particulate emissions

-        No other option being available, other than incineration for certain wastes.

Governments and Industries realise that incineration is the only available option and is absolutely essential for industrial hazardous wastes such as:

·        Paint sludge

·        Oil sludge

·        Oil soaked cotton

·        Pharma waste including expired medicines

·        Catalyst recovery

·        Animal carcass

·        Ship waste

·        Poultry waste

·        VOC containing vent gases

·        Biomedical waste

One can go on adding to this list.  The list of such incinerable wastes has evolved over a period of 25 years after waste generators realised that the only option to dispose of this waste is by incineration.  Incineration helps:

·        Eliminate ground water contamination

·        Eliminate soil contamination

·        Avoid environmental damage

·        Stop spreading of infections

·        Enable waste volume reduction

·        To provide cleaner air and water

·        Protect marine life

It is an acknowledged fact that in the Asian region, countries like India, Nepal and others primarily dispose of human bodies by incineration and not by burial.  This is to prevent infection and it has been practised here for centuries. 

Countries which were hesitating to take the incineration path, particularly America, Europe, etc. are now highly dependent on incinerators to dispose of the humongous volume of wastes that would otherwise pose an insurmountable problem.  We have witnessed in cities like Zurich, Toronto, Detroit, Milan and many such largely populated cities - municipal solid waste being incinerated with electricity being generated successfully for many years.

Incineration has come to stay, thanks to its indispensability and the advancement made in incineration technologies,  which assures the user of safe emissions and a healthy life for present and future generations!